The overall sentiment in the telecom sector remained upbeat during 2014-15 on account of 4G service launch and the announcement of programmes like Digital India and Make in India. This, however, did not reflect entirely in the financial scoreboard of companies, as they reported mixed results for 2014-15. While companies like Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited, Sterlite Technologies and Aksh Optifibre witnessed an increase in profits as compared to 2013-14, Reliance Communications, Tata Communications, Finolex Cables and Birla Ericsson Optical were some of the companies that reported a fall in net profits. Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited, GTL Infrastructure and ITI Limited registered a decline in losses in 2014-15 as compared to the previous year, while Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited, GTL Limited and Aishwarya Technologies and Telecom reported higher losses. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, which had posted a net profit in 2013-14, reported a loss in 2014-15.
The majority of the companies under consideration reported higher revenues in 2014-15 as compared to 2013-14. Only three companies – GTL Limited, GTL Infrastructure and Birla Ericsson Optical – witnessed a decline in revenues in 2014-15. The following is a review of the financial performance of select telecom companies. This list is not exhaustive. For one, several private telecom companies are not listed. Also, data is not available for international players that have delisted their Indian subsidiaries.
